Up to 120 jobs to go in Gen-i restructure

The Australian operation of Telecom’s ICT services unit, Gen-i, will make more than half of its staff redundant as part of a strategic review of the company.

In a statement, Telecom said Gen-i staff numbers will be cut from 180 down to 60 as it makes significant changes on its focus, concentrating on large corporate customers with specific trans-Tasman ICT service requirements.

It plans to exit from other customer activities that fall outside of this refined business focus, Telecom said.

Where feasible, Gen-i will transfer some customer activities to telecom subsidiary, AAPT.

“Gen-i Australia was originally set up about 13 years ago to serve the trans-Tasman needs of existing corporate customers. Over the years, it has broadened its activities within the Australian ICT services market – but we have never had the scale to compete effectively in these other market segments,” Gen-i CEO, Tim Miles, said in a statement.

“We believe the time is right to return to Gen-i Australia’s core purpose and renew our focus on trans-Tasman ICT services – an area where we have a strong track record of success, proven capabilities, an excellent roster of corporate customers, and the necessary scale to compete effectively.”

In addition to redundancy costs, it is anticipated there will be other restructuring costs associated with this action.

Telecom group expects to recognise a material one-off charge in the second half of the current financial year, as it implements a strategic shift to a competitive provider of communication, entertainment and IT services delivered over its networks and the Cloud.

Costs associated with Gen-i Australia will be included in this charge, which is excluded from the group’s stated guidance for FY13.

Slideshows

ARN Exchange: Channel discusses security spending priorities

Customers spending priorities, drawing up a security strategy for customers and partners, detailing how partners can increase profit through security and outlining key areas of market growth ahead were some of the topics discussed at the ARN Exchange event in Sydney. Partners got together to talk about the spending priorities of customers within the security market today and the skills required from partners to deliver those services. The event was in association with Juniper Networks, Webroot, Cloud Plus and Mimecast. Photos by Christine Wong.

What are the spending priorities of customers within the security market today and what are the skills required from partners to deliver those services? An overview of the security market in Australia was debated in the ARN Exchange event in Melbourne with discussions covering the customers spending priorities, drawing up a security strategy for customers and partners, detailing how partners can increase profit through security and outlining key areas of market growth ahead. The event was in association with Juniper Networks, Webroot, Cloud Plus and Mimecast. Photos by Raymond Korn.

The channel came together for the forth running of the ARN Emerging Leaders Forum in Australia, created to provide a program that identifies, educates and showcases the upcoming talent of the ICT industry.
Hosted as a half day forum, attendees heard from industry specialists as keynoters and panellists discussed leadership paths and career choices. Hall of Fame members and industry mentors​ hosted small groups of future leaders to mentor and advise.
This also marked ARN's inaugural 30 Under 30 Tech Awards, which recognised young talent in the Australian IT industry across technical, sales, marketing, management, human resources and entrepreneur categories.
Photos by Christine Wong.

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